Marti Van Ravenswaay Park, Arlington

Although it’s February, we had beautiful weather and a busy weekend enjoying it! After attending a cub scout bridging ceremony and campout Saturday night at Loyd Park in Grand Prairie, we came home Sunday morning just long enough to unload our car, and load up for a fun afternoon at Marti Vanravenswaay Park in Arlington!

This is a fun little park located in the southwestern part of Arlington.

The bright red playground equipment is tucked away from the road, somewhat hidden by trees and undergrowth. I love that they left much of the area in a natural state, giving the park a cushion from the sounds of passing cars.

I also loved the picnic tables at the park, which are slightly set back from the playground, and each other! I was close enough to watch my six year old as he played on the slides, and grill up some lunch!

While hot dogs are simple and easy at a park, one of my favorite picnic lunches is anything on a skewer! I prefer a washable tablecloth, which not only adds a great look to your table, but protects your meal from whatever was on the table before you got there. I just throw it in the washing machine when we get home (yeah right, honestly it’s a couple of days).

Basket of Fun

I always keep a basket packed with fun activities to take to the park. Here’s my list of staples for a never fail, full day of fun.

Bubble Wands. There is nothing like the magic of bubbles. Click HERE for my homemade bubbles recipe.

Sidewalk Chalk – Almost any park outing for us includes a sidewalk art show. Sometimes I give them a theme, and today’s was Spongebob. I was amazed how well my six year old could draw “Gary”.

An assortment of balls – we had a football, a basketball, a tennis ball and a playground ball. I try to rotate them out.

Several frisbees, because they get lost.

An inexpensive croquet set I purchased last fall. I’m not sure of the official rules of the sport, but we play similar to miniature golf.

A couple of radio controlled cars for racing, preferrably inexpensive.

A bug box and magnifying glass.

A couple of small fish nets.

A small assortment of sand toys and trucks. Although few parks have sandboxes anymore, it’s still fun to dig in the dirt or wood chips, and haul them with the trucks.

A deck of cards or other “travel” type game, for a little quiet time.

The kids enjoyed throwing the football in a big, open field. There is also a soccer field with goals.

Several other families were in the park flying kites, and one family brought laser tag guns and they seemed to have fun chasing each other through the trees and trails.

A half mile walking track encircles the playing fields. The track is really nice and wide, with plenty of bike riders, scooters and dog walkers using it.

My Mommy Tip: There are not any restrooms in park, so bring wipes and hand sanitizer, and go before you get there.

Geocache

It’s only been a week since we caught the geocaching fever, and we were thrilled to see that there were 2 caches hidden in the park. The kids were able to find one, aptly named Chorus of Dogs. We swapped a small Swiper the Fox (from Dora the Explorer cartoon) for a toy train. My son wants to find a way to label and display our treasures!

The second cache, Lonesome Dove, alluded them, although they searched for about a half hour. It wouldn’t be fun if they were all easy.

Want more information on how to start geocaching? Visit geocaching.com to get started. You can follow us as Fun in the Texas Sun!

Things to do in Arlington

Whew, there’s a lot to do in Arlington, for a complete list, click HERE.